Adjectives · ㅂ irregular

뜨겁다 conjugation

to be hot (to the touch) · tteugeopda · sounds like [뜨겁따]

Short answer: “Hot (to the touch)” in Korean is 뜨겁다 (tteugeopda). Polite present: 뜨거워요 (tteugeowoyo); past: 뜨거웠어요 (tteugeowosseoyo); future: 뜨거울 거예요. It is a ㅂ irregular adjective.

Present뜨거워요[뜨거워요] · tteugeowoyo
Past뜨거웠어요[뜨거워써요] · tteugeowosseoyo
Future뜨거울 거예요[뜨거울 꺼예요] · tteugeoul geoyeyo
Negative안 뜨거워요[안 뜨거워요] · an tteugeowoyo

Opposite: 차갑다 — to be cold (to the touch)

뜨겁다 in sentences

국이 뜨거워요.The soup is hot.
뜨거운 물 조심하세요.Careful, the water is hot.

All forms of 뜨겁다

Present
Polite (해요) is the everyday safe choice; formal (합니다) is for news, announcements and work; casual (반말) is for close friends and younger people.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-아/어요	뜨거워요	[뜨거워요]	tteugeowoyo
formal-(스)ㅂ니다	뜨겁습니다	[뜨겁씀니다]	tteugeopseumnida
casual-아/어	뜨거워	[뜨거워]	tteugeowo
plain (written)-다	뜨겁다	[뜨겁따]	tteugeopda
formal question-(스)ㅂ니까?	뜨겁습니까?	[뜨겁씀니까]	tteugeopseumnikka?

Past
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite-았/었어요	뜨거웠어요	[뜨거워써요]	tteugeowosseoyo
formal-았/었습니다	뜨거웠습니다	[뜨거웓씀니다]	tteugeowotseumnida
casual-았/었어	뜨거웠어	[뜨거워써]	tteugeowosseo
plain (written)-았/었다	뜨거웠다	[뜨거웓따]	tteugeowotda

Future
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
polite — will probably be-(으)ㄹ 거예요	뜨거울 거예요	[뜨거울 꺼예요]	tteugeoul geoyeyo
formal-(으)ㄹ 겁니다	뜨거울 겁니다	[뜨거울 껌니다]	tteugeoul geomnida
casual-(으)ㄹ 거야	뜨거울 거야	[뜨거울 꺼야]	tteugeoul geoya

Negative
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
not (short)안 …	안 뜨거워요	[안 뜨거워요]	an tteugeowoyo
did not안 …았/었어요	안 뜨거웠어요	[안 뜨거워써요]	an tteugeowosseoyo
not (long)-지 않아요	뜨겁지 않아요	[뜨겁찌 아나요]	tteugeopji anayo

Honorific
Add -(으)시- when the subject is someone you respect (a teacher, a customer, an older person) — not yourself.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
honorific — present-(으)세요	뜨거우세요	[뜨거우세요]	tteugeouseyo
honorific — past-(으)셨어요	뜨거우셨어요	[뜨거우셔써요]	tteugeousyeosseoyo
honorific — formal-(으)십니다	뜨거우십니다	[뜨거우심니다]	tteugeousimnida

Connecting
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
… and-고	뜨겁고	[뜨겁꼬]	tteugeopgo
… so / and then-아/어서	뜨거워서	[뜨거워서]	tteugeowoseo
if …-(으)면	뜨거우면	[뜨거우면]	tteugeoumyeon
… but-지만	뜨겁지만	[뜨겁찌만]	tteugeopjiman
because …-(으)니까	뜨거우니까	[뜨거우니까]	tteugeounikka
… and / but (background)-(으)ㄴ데	뜨거운데	[뜨거운데]	tteugeounde
even if …-아/어도	뜨거워도	[뜨거워도]	tteugeowodo
while …-(으)면서	뜨거우면서	[뜨거우면서]	tteugeoumyeonseo

Describing a noun
These go before a noun: “the food (that) I ate”, “a cold day”.
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
(that is) …-(으)ㄴ	뜨거운	[뜨거운]	tteugeoun
(that) will …-(으)ㄹ	뜨거울	[뜨거울]	tteugeoul

Useful patterns
Form	Korean	Sounds like	Romanized
can be …-(으)ㄹ 수 있어요	뜨거울 수 있어요	[뜨거울 쑤 이써요]	tteugeoul su isseoyo
cannot be …-(으)ㄹ 수 없어요	뜨거울 수 없어요	[뜨거울 쑤 업써요]	tteugeoul su eopseoyo
have to be …-아/어야 해요	뜨거워야 해요	[뜨거워야 해요]	tteugeowoya haeyo
it’s OK if it’s …-아/어도 돼요	뜨거워도 돼요	[뜨거워도 돼요]	tteugeowodo dwaeyo
…ly (adverb)-게	뜨겁게	[뜨겁께]	tteugeopge
becomes …-아/어지다	뜨거워져요	[뜨거워저요]	tteugeowojeoyo
…ing (noun)-기	뜨겁기	[뜨겁끼]	tteugeopgi

How 뜨겁다 changes

ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 뜨겁 + 어 → 뜨거워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 뜨거우면, 뜨거울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 뜨겁습니다, 뜨겁고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

How every verb type works → · Why it sounds like that →

Questions

How do you say “hot” in Korean?

“Hot (to the touch)” is 뜨겁다 (tteugeopda), pronounced [뜨겁따]. In a sentence: 국이 뜨거워요. — The soup is hot.

What is the past tense of 뜨겁다?

뜨거웠어요 (tteugeowosseoyo) is the polite past tense of 뜨겁다 (“to be hot (to the touch)”). Formal: 뜨거웠습니다; casual: 뜨거웠어.

How do you say 뜨겁다 politely?

Everyday polite: 뜨거워요 (tteugeowoyo). Formal: 뜨겁습니다. Casual, with close friends: 뜨거워.

How do you say “not hot” in Korean?

안 뜨거워요 or 뜨겁지 않아요. Both mean the same; the first is more common in speech.

Is 뜨겁다 irregular?

Yes — ㅂ irregular: before a vowel, ㅂ turns into 우 — so 뜨겁 + 어 → 뜨거워요, and -(으) endings use 우: 뜨거우면, 뜨거울. Before a consonant the ㅂ stays: 뜨겁습니다, 뜨겁고. Not every ㅂ word does this — 입다 → 입어요 and 잡다 → 잡아요 are regular.

More ㅂ irregular words like 뜨겁다

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Forms follow 한글 맞춤법 (Korean spelling rules); pronunciation follows 표준 발음법 and romanization follows 국어의 로마자 표기법 (Revised Romanization). Last updated October 16, 2026. How we check